CNN BREAKING NEWS

'Monopoly' Rigged!

Aired August 21, 2001 - 15:15 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. JOIE CHEN, CNN ANCHOR: I am Joie Chen from the CNN center in Atlanta. Following up on the latest details with some questions being raised about McDonald's and that very popular "Monopoly" game they have been running.

The FBI has arrested a number of people accused of rigging the game to move the prizes into, to other people. This is a big game, it's involving quite a bit of money in prizes. CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena joining us now from our Washington studios with the latest details from McDonald's on all of this -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Joie. Well, McDonald's says that in order to right this wrong, it will launch a new game starting August 30, running through September 3, that will offer $10 million in prizes. They said that's the first step and then when the FBI concludes its investigation, it will launch another game to, to make sure that the customers have the opportunity to win any other money that had been diverted as a result of this scheme.

The company says that it will be a McDonald's instant giveaway game. For someone who doesn't go to McDonald's very often, that's a very popular game, I am told. That's how they will handle this right now. The company also severed its relationship with Simon Marketing, which is the company that was handling the Monopoly and other promotional games for McDonald's. And Joie as you said, eight individuals have been arrested in rigging those games, diverting some of the high-value prizes to friends and associates, who, in turn, claimed the prices and then shared it in a big pyramid scheme -- Joie.

CHEN: Kelli, I have to ask you this, you mentioned that McDonald's says it wants to run these new promotions in an effort to right the wrong. But there is no indication that McDonald's did anything wrong itself did anything wrong that caused this?

ARENA: Exactly right, Joie. McDonald's, the FBI says, the Justice Department says McDonald's was not involved in any way. This was a firm that it had contracted to run the games and it was an employee of that firm who started the whole scheme.